Many years ago, I watched a TV program about a car driver who was so confident in his driving ability that he believed he could drive while dealing with distractions—or so he thought. He was put to the test, using various attention measurement tools and so, and he was proven wrong.

In a broader context, when it comes to focus, many of us are like that driver. We are convinced we can truly multitask without affecting the quality of our output. Others acknowledge that focus is not possible while multitasking, yet continue a multitasking lifestyle. In any case, in this world full of distractions, most of us—except for a few—have lost the ability to focus precisely when we need it most.

But it seems that focus still doesn’t have the place it deserves.

Let’s take a look at the list of soft skills that are typically mentioned by leading institutions and experts in the field of human capital:

Tony Wagner	The World Economic Forum	The Burning Glass Institute
Critical thinking & problem solving	Analytical thinking	Organization and time management
Collaboration across networks and leading by influence	Resilience, flexibility, and agility	Verbal communication
Agility and adaptability	Leadership and social influence	Leadership
Initiative and Entrepreneurialism	Creative thinking	Positive thinking
Effective oral and written communication	Motivation and self-awareness	Listening
Accessing and analyzing information	Empathy and active listening	Critical thinking
Curiosity and imagination	Systems thinking	Building effective relationships
Perseverance	Dependability and attention to detail	Design thinking
Willingness to experiment		Team work and collaboration
Take calculated risks.		Problem solving
Tolerate failure		Creativity
Capacity for design thinking

Focus is not there—or at least, it’s not explicitly mentioned.

But what is focus, and why is it supposed to be so important?
Focus—distraction-free, deep attention to a single activity, which happens to be a precondition for flow—has been found to be the foundation of great achievements. Research shows that those who achieve world-class mastery are able to dedicate thousands of hours to deliberate practice. The key word? Deliberate, or deeply focused attention. Anders Ericsson and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi are two key figures behind important research on focus and flow, but the findings were popularized by modern writers such as Malcolm Gladwell, who refers to the 10,000 hours of deliberate practice needed to achieve mastery.

Focus and flow were originally emphasized in the context of world-class achievers across various fields, but their relevance is no longer limited to becoming the next Picasso.

Overall, according to the Burning Glass Institute, the lifespan of skills has been shortening. In some fields, such as IT, the skills required in some IT-related occupations change every two years. This shift was already underway before the GenAI boom. With GenAI, lifelong learning is no longer just a desirable soft skill—it’s a necessity. More importantly, lifelong learning alone is not enough. Many of us will need to get up to speed faster. With this, focus—its closest cousin—has become a survival skill.

With focus and flow, great things happen. We absorb more information, unleash creativity, and significantly improve learning. According to a 10-year McKinsey study—based on interviews with more than 5,000 executives—during peak performance, executives felt their productivity increased fivefold.

I’m not going to claim I’m a focus or productivity guru. I prefer to recommend those who truly have the expertise. You can easily find many, but if I had to mention a few, my list would include Andrew Huberman, Steven Kotler, and Cal Newport—though I’m guessing you’re already familiar with them.

If you’re interested in improving (or actually developing from scratch) your ability to focus—which would be a wise decision—you’ll want to dive into their work. For starters, here’s a summary of their main suggestions:

• Because focus and concentration are deeply connected with neurochemicals such as epinephrine and dopamine, good mental and physical health is essential.
• Quality sleep is a prerequisite.
• Our bodies seem to operate on 90-minute cycles (called ultradian cycles). This means that deep focus can last about that long, so a 10–15-minute break is recommended afterward.
• The less experience you have with focused work, the more gradual your approach should be—start with at least one 90-minute session per day; later, aim for three or four cycles per day (apparently the limit for most of us).
• Creating the right conditions for focus is essential. In simple terms: eliminate distractions.
• During breaks, avoid desperately reaching for your phone. It’s better to go idle and let your brain rest.
• Practice meditation.
• Setting clear goals—as opposed to vague aspirations—is important.